Rosenberg had covered the Cleveland Orchestra for most of his career. In 1977, he was recruited for his first newspaper job—music and dance critic for the Akron Beacon Journal . An accomplished French horn player and a graduate of Mannes College of Music, Rosenberg went on to earn masters of music and musical arts degrees from Yale. When Beacon Journal editors asked a Yale professor to recommend a music critic, he nominated Rosenberg. Because Rosenberg had no journalism experience, he wrote a few reviews on trial. He got the job.

For Rosenberg, the beat was a plum assignment in large part because it included the Cleveland Orchestra. Cleveland’s was considered one of the best orchestras in America. “They may have very good ensembles in other cities, but not comparable to the Cleveland Orchestra,” he says. “So it was thrilling not only to cover concerts, but to talk to great artists” such as Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti and French composer-conductor (and former Cleveland Orchestra principal guest conductor and musical advisor) Pierre Boulez. “It was the thing I loved most.” [1]

Rosenberg had taken a music criticism course at Yale, but learned journalism on the job. “Editors certainly helped me, especially in the early years,” he recalls. He learned to write commentaries, feature stories—the gamut. A personal highpoint came in 1982, when the Beacon Journal sent Rosenberg to Germany for a week to do interviews for a Sunday magazine profile of Dohnányi—just named the Cleveland Orchestra’s music director-designate. Rosenberg won an award for the story from the Akron Press Club.

After 12 years with the Beacon Journal , Rosenberg in 1989 joined the Pittsburgh Press as music critic. But three years later, he returned to Ohio when the Plain Dealer ’s classical music critic position opened. Rosenberg would cover not only the Cleveland Orchestra, but opera, musical theater, and other live performances in the city, as well as review classical recordings. [2]

Rosenberg certainly knew what he was getting himself into. He had been a critic for nearly 15 years. It was a field with high standards.